| CW Now | |
|---|---|
 Logo of CW Now | |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 23 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | The CW |
| Release | September 23, 2007 (2007-09-23) – February 24, 2008 (2008-02-24) |
| Related | |
| Extra | |
CW Now is an American news program/news magazine series which aired onThe CW from September 23, 2007 to February 24, 2008. It was abrand extension of thesyndicatedTelepictures news magazineExtra, and featured anchors and correspondents from that show, including co-hostsMario Lopez andTanika Ray. The program was devoted to topics of interest to young adults (ages 18–29, the audience targeted by the network), including entertainment news and technology topics, sometimes drawn fromExtra itself, setting up the latter to inexplicably compete with its own weekend edition.
During The CW's firstupfront presentation, network executiveDawn Ostroff announced to advertisers that they would pursue a then-new advertising strategy for the series (resembling the current day concept ofnative advertising combined with anadvertorial), which the network called "CWickies" (pronounced quickies). Under the concept, an advertiser's content would be blended into the program rather than the show taking traditional commercial breaks, allowing the show to make the incorrect claim that it would be "commercial-free" in the traditional sense.
OnlyWalmart would truly take advantage of the format with their products blended into every episode ofCW Now, and comedianLewis Black mocked the concept in a "Back in Black" monologue onThe Daily Show's September 26, 2007 episode. The "CWickies" concept would also be tried for the commercial breaks betweenGilmore Girls andVeronica Mars on Tuesday evenings in a more traditional ad format (this time tying in withAmerican Eagle Outfitters'saerie underwear brand), where it also failed to attract interest due to the target audience of each series finding the conversations between actors in "CWickies" ads about aerie and the plot points in those two series unnatural and stilted.
The show was produced byTelepictures and Warner Horizon Television.
On the January 20, 2008 episode,CW Now received a 0.2/0 in the 18–49 demo, earning what was then a rare broadcast network "scratch"Nielsen rating where too few ratings participants were watching to allow any tabulation, with the following repeat ofAliens in America attaining the lowest-possible 0.1/0. AgainstSuper Bowl XLII onFox on February 3, 2008, the show indeed hit that same number with a 0.1/0 in the 18–49 demo, a 0.3/0 in the households, and only 349,000 viewers.
On February 8, 2008,The CW announced thatCW Now would be going on hiatus, though only five days later, it was announced that the February 24, 2008 episode would be the series finale.[1] The show was replaced with encores ofAmerica's Next Top Model.[2]
